Piniella said the New York-based owners who bought a controlling share of the perennially poor-performing franchise a year ago don't seem to care about Tampa Bay's current on-field product.

"They're not interested in the present, they're interested in the future. And that's their right," he said. "But when other teams are getting better presently, you're going to get your butts beat and that's exactly what's happening."

He continued:

"I'm not going to take responsibility for this," Piniella said in pregame remarks to reporters. "If I had been given a $40 million or $45 million payroll, I'd stand up like a man and say it's my fault. Well, I'm not going to do it. So if you want answers about what's going on here, you call the new ownership group and let them give them to you."

"When I came here three years ago, we talked about a situation where we wanted to win now and we were interested in winning now," Piniella said. "And you know what? With a small payroll we [improved] from 55 [victories] to 63 and then to 70. This was supposed to be a breakout year. The problem is we've got a new ownership group here that's changed the direction of where we're headed."
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2083511

PippyPinstripes

06-12-05, 02:47 PM

Come, Lou. We need you.

IronCaballo4

06-12-05, 02:47 PM

Come, Lou. We need you.

Amen!

bleachersown

06-12-05, 02:56 PM

Lou is right. One can only imagine how good Tampa will be when all their young talent comes of age.

Mattpat11

06-12-05, 02:58 PM

They're interested in the future?

This job will give him a stroke.

ring403

06-12-05, 03:06 PM

A $29 million payroll?! I still can't fathom why an owner would be allowed to take over a team, and invest so little into the product. It's an embarrassment to the league, and a shame for fanbase in Tampa Bay.
As for Piniella, he was always one of my favorite players, and has become a great manager. I'd love to see him back in pinstripes one day.

Epy7280

06-12-05, 03:41 PM

Come, Lou. We need you.

ditto

YankeeFan1

06-12-05, 03:48 PM

A $29 million payroll?! I still can't fathom why an owner would be allowed to take over a team, and invest so little into the product. It's an embarrassment to the league, and a shame for fanbase in Tampa Bay.
As for Piniella, he was always one of my favorite players, and has become a great manager. I'd love to see him back in pinstripes one day. An even bigger question is why is MLB so greedy that they would even put a team in Tampa when they already knew that the Marlins could barely draw a semi-decent crowd in football crazy Florida? The D'Rays were destined to fail and be an embarassment to MLB.

Stupid Flanders

06-12-05, 04:18 PM

An even bigger question is why is MLB so greedy that they would even put a team in Tampa when they already knew that the Marlins could barely draw a semi-decent crowd in football crazy Florida? The D'Rays were destined to fail and be an embarassment to MLB.
But they have that lovely ballpark

yankeesAZ

06-12-05, 04:33 PM

A $29 million payroll?! I still can't fathom why an owner would be allowed to take over a team, and invest so little into the product. It's an embarrassment to the league, and a shame for fanbase in Tampa Bay.
As for Piniella, he was always one of my favorite players, and has become a great manager. I'd love to see him back in pinstripes one day.

We shouldn't have to give them any luxary tax money.

Looie #19

06-12-05, 05:05 PM

"I'm not going to take responsibility for this," Piniella said in pregame remarks to reporters. "If I had been given a $40 million or $45 million payroll, I'd stand up like a man and say it's my fault. Well, I'm not going to do it. So if you want answers about what's going on here, you call the new ownership group and let them give them to you."

Someone else whining about payroll. Lou, you haven't been given a ton to work with, but maybe you're not as good a manager as some people like to think?

Namoli certainly hasn't run a good franchise, but it says a lot when Piniella has had more talent to work with than Hal McRae, and the team is just as bad. Should they overpay for the Christian Guzmans and Esteban Loaizas of the world to make him happy? Should they pay their pre-arb players more than the league minimum?

The only talent that club is going to get via free agency is mid-level players that they're going to have to drastically overpay. That's a hell of a lot more irresponsible than just not going out and overpaying for fungible talent.

YankeeFan1

06-12-05, 05:47 PM

Someone else whining about payroll. Lou, you haven't been given a ton to work with, but maybe you're not as good a manager as some people like to think?

Namoli certainly hasn't run a good franchise, but it says a lot when Piniella has had more talent to work with than Hal McRae, and the team is just as bad. Should they overpay for the Christian Guzmans and Esteban Loaizas of the world to make him happy? Should they pay their pre-arb players more than the league minimum?

The only talent that club is going to get via free agency is mid-level players that they're going to have to drastically overpay. That's a hell of a lot more irresponsible than just not going out and overpaying for fungible talent. This is the most ridiculous post. Fess up you are related to Namoli, right? You are actually justifying the D'Rays owner pocketing the Yankees' revenue sharing and luxury tax money along with their profits and not having to put anything resembling a major league team on the field. I watch the D'Rays play almost all their games and there aren't more than 3 major league hitters (Crawfold, Huff and Baldelli) on that team. Kazmir is the only decent pitcher. He will be a stud in about 3 years, but right now should still be in AAA. The D'Rays and Namoli are a disgrace.

26 and counting

06-12-05, 05:50 PM

But they have that lovely ballpark

I think it's a nice ballpark. I was there two weeks ago. It's air-conditioned, has comfortable seats, and the tickets are very affordable. I had a great time there.

Speaking of Namoli, there is a group of Tampa fans that are protesting his ownership of the team and have held rallies to get him the hell out of there. Apparently nobody has listened yet.

You're right, the team should spend more money on fungible talent instead of doing whatever the hell they wish to do with it. Maybe I'm the only one insane enough to think that they're likely never going to compete anyways. They could further things by cutting costs by stopping paying for those pesky top draft picks, and stop overpaying for a manager that has had playoff team after playoff team in Seattle without anything to show for it.

How is what Namoli is doing in Tampa any different than any other for-profit business in America? Namoli's a terrible baseball owner, he's a pretty good business owner if he's making a profit on that awful baseball team that plays in a arena football stadium.

He should lose money trying to compete against the Yankees and Red Sox?

The Yankees should also offer to pay all those players salaries as well.

ring403

06-12-05, 06:30 PM

He should lose money trying to compete against the Yankees and Red Sox?
Nobody said he had to field a $200 million payroll. Other well run teams compete for the postseason every year with small payrolls.
If he isn't interested in making even a token effort to compete, he has no business owning a major league franchise. If his goal is to cut every corner possible in an effort to squeeze every last cent of profit out of a floundering franchise, he is not a good owner or a good businessman.

Stealthspy

06-12-05, 06:36 PM

Here goes the media, blowing everything way out of proportion. This is why public relations can be a decent career. Sheesh.

AMYanks

06-12-05, 06:49 PM

We need ya', Sweet Lou.

Yankees1962

06-12-05, 07:13 PM

In time, some of you will be ready to ride Lou out of town on a rail too by using the excuse he's too hard on his players or is too old for the job. Managers and coaches are like the flavor of the month for sports fans.

patrick.o

06-12-05, 07:23 PM

I can understand Lou being upset about the team not going after any FAs or trades that might make the team better, but I don't think this year's roster is significantly worse than last years, at least not enough to be taking a step backwards. Saying 'it's not my fault' is not only bush league, it's insulting to the players.

You're right, the team should spend more money on fungible talent instead of doing whatever the hell they wish to do with it. Maybe I'm the only one insane enough to think that they're likely never going to compete anyways. They could further things by cutting costs by stopping paying for those pesky top draft picks, and stop overpaying for a manager that has had playoff team after playoff team in Seattle without anything to show for it.

How is what Namoli is doing in Tampa any different than any other for-profit business in America? Namoli's a terrible baseball owner, he's a pretty good business owner if he's making a profit on that awful baseball team that plays in a arena football stadium.

He should lose money trying to compete against the Yankees and Red Sox?By your logic any team on the bottom in terms of payroll, talent and record should just pack it up and not try to win.

Looie #19

06-12-05, 10:09 PM

By your logic any team on the bottom in terms of payroll, talent and record should just pack it up and not try to win.

Well, that's wasn't my logic and you know it. My logic was why the hell should teams lose money building a .500 team when they can have an abomination that breaks even?

CTSoxFan

06-12-05, 11:43 PM

Well, Steinbrenner said that he trusts Torre to turn the Yankees' season around. Which means that Torre will be fired by the end of July. Which opens up the door for Sweet Lou to take the job.

Yup. And very clearly, Piniella is trying to get fired. I wonder if he and George have already negotiated the contract...

YankeeFan1

06-13-05, 09:19 AM

Lou may be making a play for Joe's job, but at this point I actually don't think that Lou cares much any more. He sounds discouraged and wiped out by the losing.

SoCal Pinstriper

06-14-05, 12:00 PM

An update From the Tampa Tribune:

Piniella insisted he won't walk away from the remaining year-and-a-half of his original four-year, $13 million contract. And Rays general manager Chuck LaMar made it clear Piniella won't be fired, not with about $6.5 million still owed on the contract.

But a buyout remains a possibility if Piniella and ownership - specifically, New York- based investor Stuart Sternberg - can reach a deal.

LaMar, speaking for the first time about the remarks, was asked Monday whether the Rays manager can continue to coexist with ownership after Piniella said, among other things, that the members of the group of investors (led by Sternberg) who purchased 48 percent of the Rays in 2004 are ``not interested in the present, they're interested about the future.''

``That's yet to be determined,'' LaMar said. ``I wish I could bull you and say that's going to happen, but obviously, there's some questions there on the direction of the organization.

``Can we call up the young players? What's the payroll going to be for future years? Can I get enough of those pieces to get the job done here? And those are going to have to be addressed. ... So, when he comes out and makes those statements, obviously he has some concerns about the direction of the organization. He has some concerns about the ownership and who's calling the shots. And it's my job as general manager to get that straightened out.''

Piniella stood by his comments Monday, but insisted it wasn't a personal attack on Sternberg.

``The amazing part about it is that the new people that bought this baseball club, they're nice people,'' Piniella said. ``I've got absolutely nothing, personally, against anybody. They're a good group of men. But this is a tough business. And what I said, I said.''
http://rays.tbo.com/rays/MGBGAC1MX9E.html